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Houghton Library - p. 5 L650, HCL (H52), J1571, Fr1525

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Credits: Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
[Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886] A.L. (unsigned) to [Elizabeth (Chapin) Holland]; [Amherst] 4, 15 Jul [1880] 3s. (6p.) MS Am 1118.2 (52). Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Houghton Library - p. 5 L650, HCL (H52), J1571, Fr1525
Publication History
BM (1945), 212, from the retained copy ([A]), made composite with the adoption of "dappled" from line 5 of the Norcross version ([B]). LH (1951), 131-32, in the letter to Holland (C). Poems (1955), 1030 (A, [B] cited, C principal); CP (1960), 628 (C). Letters (1958), 666, in the letter to Holland (C). Higgins, American Literature, 38 (March 1966), 20, from the Norcross transcript ([B]). (J1491). Franklin Variorum 1998 (F1525C).
-History from Franklin Variorum 1998

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Imported: 2013-10-21 13:02:02 -0400
Order: 5
Order Label: p. 5 L650, HCL (H52), J1571, Fr1525
Label: p. 5 L650, HCL (H52), J1571, Fr1525
Filename: ms_am_1118_2_52_0005

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J1491 - The Road to Paradise is plain,

The Road to Paradise is plain,
And holds scarce one.
Not that it is not firm
But we presume
A Dimpled Road
Is more preferred.
The Belles of Paradise are few --
Not me -- nor you --
But unsuspected things --
Mines have no Wings.

About Work

First Line/Title: The Road to Paradise is plain,
Date: 1880
Recipient: Josiah Holland and Elizabeth Holland
Edition: Johnson Poems 1955
Number: J1491

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Work Metadata

Year: 1880
Manuscript: Manuscripts: The copy reproduced above (H H 52) is incorporated in a letter written to Mrs. J. G. Holland on 4 July 1880. In the second line "just" is erased and "scarce" is substituted. Another fair copy (Bingham 98-1-8), written about the same time, is variant in lines 3, 5, and 7: The Road to Paradise is plain And holds scarce one -- Not that it has not room But we presume A florid Road Is more preferred. The Guests of Paradise are few -- Not me, nor you -- But unsuspected things -- Mines have no Wings A third copy now lost is discussed below.
Recipient: Josiah Holland and Elizabeth Holland
Publications: Publication: The version to Mrs. Holland is in LH (1951), 131-132. The version in BM (1945), 212, derives from a transcript made by Mrs. Todd of a copy presumably now lost. It is without stanza division and is identical in text with the second fair copy except for one word. 5. florid] dappled

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Related Works in Other Editions

F1525C - The road to Paradise is plain

The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Variorum Edition, Franklin, 1998